Also Known as “Splash Stick,” “Lid Sip Hole Plug,” & “Green Thing” (Just Don’t Call it a “Swizzle Stick”) Want to know why you can get one of those “dip sticks” (my term) at Starbucks ” but not at Caribou, Dunn Bros., or other coffee chain? Starbucks has a patent on it. Or more specifically,...Read More
Also Known as “Splash Stick,” “Lid Sip Hole Plug,” & “Green Thing” (Just Don’t Call it a “Swizzle Stick”) Want to know why you can get one of those “dip sticks” (my term) at Starbucks ” but not at Caribou, Dunn Bros., or other coffee chain? Starbucks has a patent on it. Or more specifically,...Read More
[Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] Napster — the copyright infringing, file-sharing, early Internet darling of the ’90’s — may have deserved to die. See, “copyright infringement.” But,...Read More
Also Known as “Splash Stick,” “Lid Sip Hole Plug,” & “Green Thing” (Just Don’t Call it a “Swizzle Stick”) Want to know why you can get one of those “dip sticks” (my term) at Starbucks — but not at Caribou, Dunn Bros., or other coffee chain? Starbucks has a patent on it. Or more specifically,...Read More
Double Whammy: Zillow’s Revenue, Realtors’ Expense* [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.] One of the biggest reasons that Zillow and Trulia — Websites that aggregate real estate listings and whose stocks are publicly-traded — make a...Read More
Acura vs. LEXUS vs. Hyundai Is it just me, or do the logo’s of Acura, LEXUS, and Hyundai all look vaguely interchangeable? They all start with a modernistic, boomerang-like shape, then rotate and tweak it until it resembles an “A” or “L” or “H.” I suppose one conclusion is that “great minds think alike,” and each company’s designers independently arrived...Read More
